Live Nation Close To Doing Another Crazy "360 Deal" With Shakira

Just a week after Live Nation chairman Michael
Cohl was forced out for wanting to do more 360 deals, Live Nation
is apparently days away from announcing...another 360 deal. This
time, its a $70 million agreement with Shakira.

The New York Post: Though Live Nation and Shakira have been
in talks for about 10 months, sources said after last week's
negative press, CEO Michael Rapino wanted to move quickly to
finalize the deal as a way to reassure employees [that] he was
committed to the Artist Nation strategy.

We've always been surprised by rumors that Shakira was Live
Nation's next target. After all, she's not nearly as iconic an
artist as Madonna or Jay-Z, but apparently her concerts are a big
draw outside the US:

But sources said Live Nation isn't banking on Shakira's album
sales or even domestic touring to make the deal work.

Aside from US cities with large Hispanic populations, sources
said, Shakira lacks the built-in fan base that Madonna and Jay-Z
enjoy in the US.

Rather, sources said Live Nation views Shakira as a top-level
international touring draw, particularly in Latin America, where
she routinely sells out stadiums.

As one source put it: "Shakira's numbers outside the US are crazy
stupid."

These sources said Live Nation expects Shakira to continue
growing her international audience and is banking on her to be
their Latin music pillar, much like Madonna is for pop and Jay-Z
is for hip-hop.

Still, if Live Nation is really just signing Shakira because of
the success of her tours, why wouldn't they simply do a concert
deal?